Engineered fence system

ABSTRACT

An engineered fence system having multiple components enabling assembly of corner and other fence components to which fencing wire may be attached. The primary components are a vertical post with at least one post flange, lateral and angle braces, gate flanges with end-flanges, angle flanges, end-caps, and fasteners for attaching end-flanges to the post flanges.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/245,000 filed Oct. 6, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to fences, and in particular, relates to amodular fencing system for corner and stretch fence components to whichfencing wire may be attached.

2. Description of the Related Art

There are many different types of fencing assemblies, including thepatents referred to herein, the disclosure of which is incorporated byreference. One goal of many such assemblies is to maintain the wire thatforms the horizontal fence barrier, such as barbed wire, stretchedtightly along the fence line over an extended period of time, and toprevent sagging of the wire by providing corner posts and intermediateposts that are more securely placed than the average posts in the fenceline. Such corner and intermediate posts are often braced to augmenttheir resistance against the pull of the fence wire. Pipe is often usedfor these assemblies, and the various lengths and dimensions of pipe aretypically cut and welded together as needed in the field.

The inventions of Collins (U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,598 and U.S.2003/0066995) utilizes a diagonal stabilizing post between a verticalpost, such as a prior T-post, and a shorter stabilizing vertical postconnected together by means of a closure member or connector havingspaced arms, together with a wire looped over the stabilizing post,which allows tightening of the fence wires.

Other patents utilize T-posts or other shapes of posts with lugs or withslots for which specialized connectors are provided to enable attachmentto the posts. Eades (U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,508) provides C-shaped postswith slot-type openings, and various connectors, including aself-tightening connector plate and other connectors with projections toslide into the openings on the posts, to connect the posts to rails.Wagner (U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,3322 and Williams (U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,724)both have a hollow collar member which slides over T-posts and a wedgeto secure the collar between adjacent lugs on the post by tightlywedging the collar and post together, while Wasicek et al. (U.S. Pat.No. 4,763,879) has an apertured collar and a wedge-shaped connector formounting braces to a T-shaped post.

The posts of Smith (U.S. Pat. No. 814,403) are wider at the bottom thanthe top. Diagonal brace-bars have end hinges so that they may be boltedto the posts.

One means of attaching iron rails to iron posts is found in the patentof Stewart (U.S. Pat. No. 1,656,024), which uses connecting plateshaving a rectangular slot for the post and a downwardly U-shape forreceiving the horizontal rails.

The corner brace of Verner (U.S. Pat. No. 2,445,545) utilizes atelescoping horizontal top rail having a vertical hanger, angled braces,relatively rotatable disks suspended from the vertical hanger to holdthe angled braces together between vertical posts. Braces for verticalposts or columns also include those of Pyanowski et al. (U.S.Publication No. 2003/0015633) (rotatable about a kicker plate),Hutchinson (U.S. Pat. No. 769,479) (metal base of intersecting arms withinclined braces going up toward the top of the post from the base),Hanneken (U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,761)(inclined braces slidingly attach toguides that extend through the lower part of vertical posts, and extendup to the center of an upper horizontal brace), Miller. (U.S. Pat. No.5,061,109)(tubing braces with flexible U-shaped or hooked ends to boltto a T-post), and Griggs et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,055) (groundengaging and brace members clamped to post by means of angular bracketassemblies).

Other fencing patents provide mechanisms for custom building a fence,such as on uneven ground or on corners. The patent of Webb (U.S. Pat.No. 6,779,782) has connecting rods between three different types offence posts, having pairs of ears on a first side only, on two oppositesites, or a rind with pairs of ears on only a first side, which togetherenable pivoting of the rod horizontally and upward and downward.

Most of these patented fence assemblies do not have a moment connection(a rigid connection between structural members which transfers momentfrom one member to the other and thus resists the moment force), butrather may be classified as having “pinned” connections, which aredesigned to transfer axial and shear forces. An invention that does havea moment connection is that of Doyle (U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,256 and U.S.Publication No. 2002/0027223) in which pairs of threaded studs areattached to vertical posts, channel segments are attached to horizontalmembers, and holes in the channel segments are placed upon the threadedstuds to lock the channel segments on to the vertical posts.

Many prior fence systems are not sufficiently versatile so that they maybe placed in situation of uneven terrain, or may be used at gateopenings or multiple directions from corner posts. Fence corners andH-braces for stabilizing fences, as well as a variety of variations infence structure, which provide a secure anchor for attached wire areoften made of vertical and horizontal pipe sections, braced by angledpipe sections, but attaching these pipe sections together must be donein the field after anchoring the posts in the soil. This requireswelding on site, so that the connection is secure, which is oftendifficult to accomplish, due to the need to get the welding equipmentand power source to the site, particularly with fences that extend forlong distances.

The invention disclosed in the parent application of the instantapplication, Ser. No. 11/245,000 provides a fence system having multiplecomponents enabling assembly of corner and other fence components towhich fencing wire may be attached. The primary components are avertical post with at least one post flange, lateral and angle braceshaving end-flanges, extension flanges with end-flanges, gate flangeswith end-flanges, angle flanges, end-caps, and fasteners for attachingend-flanges to the post flanges. Subsequent research on fence strengthand flexibility and ease of construction of this prior fence system hasresulted in the instant invention.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improvedversatile engineered fence system that enables assembly of fencecorners, H-braces, gate attachment posts as well as a variety ofstructural fence variations in the field, without requiring weldingon-site. It is a further object of the invention to provide a sturdy,attractive, easy to assemble, economical fence system that can be usedin many different fencing situations and is maintenance-free.

Other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from thefollowing disclosure and appended claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention herein is an engineered fence system having multiplecomponents enabling assembly of corner and other fence components towhich fencing wire may be attached. The primary components used in thefence system of the invention include a vertical post, made of squaretubing, and at least one post flange, lateral braces with end-flanges,angle braces, gate flanges with end-flanges, angle flanges, end-caps,and fasteners for attaching end-flanges to the post flanges.

Other objects and features of the inventions will be more fully apparentfrom the following disclosure and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fence including a fence cornerassembled from the components of the fence system of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side-perspective view of a vertical post of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a side-perspective view of a lateral brace of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a side-perspective view of an angle brace of the inventionshowing the two components of the angle brace attached together with anangle flange.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a gate flange of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of a lateral brace mounted to avertical post using an angle flange of the invention herein.

FIG. 7 is a side perspective view of an angle flange having flangeplates oriented, with respect to the perpendicular portions, for angleadjustment in a plane parallel to the post or brace to which the angleflange is attached.

FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of an angle flange having flangeplates oriented, with respect to the perpendicular portions, for angleadjustment in a plane perpendicular to the post or brace to which theangle flange is attached.

FIG. 9 is a side perspective view of post flanges attached to a verticalpost of the invention and shows an end-cap placed on the top of avertical post of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS THEREOF

The present invention is an engineered fence system that includesmultiple components that may be assembled in a variety of ways andmodules as appropriate for the location to be fenced and type of fencingcomponents needed. An example of an assembled fence corner 20 usingmultiple components of the invention is shown in FIG. 1. The componentsinclude a vertical post with at least one post flange, and a variety ofother components having flanges, including lateral braces havingend-flanges, gate flanges with end-flanges, angle flanges, end-caps andfasteners.

Preferably all of the component parts of the invention are made of hotdip galvanized steel, which gives more coating and lasts longer thanelectro galvanizing and is therefore preferable, so that the componentswill not rust, but the components may also be made of other sturdysteel, aluminum pipe, or other metals if desired.

Referring now in more detail to the invention shown in the figures, theheart of the invention is a vertical post 22 having at least one postflange 24A,B attached, and preferably four post flanges as discussedbelow, permanently attached to the vertical post 22 by means known inthe art such as by welding as shown in FIG. 2, to accept a variety ofmodular options. The vertical post 22 has four sides, each sideperpendicular to the adjacent sides, and preferably the post has asquare cross section that is 2½ inches×2½ inches, and preferably thepost flange and other flanges are 2½×6 inches in size, and ⅜ inch thick.The post flanges 22 may have eased or rounded edges or corners, as maythe end-flanges discussed below if desired.

Preferably, as shown in FIG. 2, to optimize flexibility of use, thevertical post 22 has four post flanges 24A permanently attached parallelto each other, one on each side of the vertical post at an upperlocation on the vertical post, and another four vertical post flanges24B permanently attached parallel to each other, one on each side of thevertical post at a lower location on the vertical post 22, as shown inFIG. 2. The vertical posts 22 may be manufactured with additional postflanges if deemed appropriate for particular types of fencing.

The vertical posts 22 are preferably 2½-inch schedule 10 square tubing,and may be any length as a standard pipe fencing post, for example, aneight foot long steel tube, to allow three feet to be buried in theground and preferably placed in concrete and five feet above ground. Ifthe tube is made of another material, such as aluminum, the size andtype of pipe might be varied as needed to have the requisitecharacteristics such as strength for the desired use. The posts may alsobe any length desired for other types of fence. While the vertical posts22 may be manufactured to have the post flanges 24 at any desiredlocation, it is preferred to place the upper post flanges 24A abouteight inches from the top of the vertical post 22, and to place thelower post flanges 24B about 46 inches from the bottom of the verticalpost 22, so that the lower post flanges 24B are about ten inches abovethe surface of the ground in the assembled fence.

The post flanges 24A,B permanently attached to the vertical posts 22preferably each have two holes 26 spaced as shown in FIG. 2 so that anyone of a variety of end-flanges, as discussed below, may be attached toa post flange 24A,B using nuts 27 and bolts 28. Not shown are the holesin the vertical posts 22 themselves which are spaced so as to be alignedwith holes 26 when the post flanges 24A,B are attached to the posts.Preferably the bolts 28 are hot dip galvanized bolts (e.g., a structuralbolt such as A325) that are ½ inch in diameter and ⅞ inches long for thepreferred dimensions of the other components discussed herein. The nutsare embedded into the flanges through a hexagonal opening punched in theflange (FIG. 9). The nut is washered as is known in the art, and is ½inch in diameter. The washer keeps the nut in place, prevents the nutfrom passing through the flange, and permits the bolt to draw up and thehex hole keeps it from turning. When the plate is welded to the post thewasher is hidden.

In the most basic module of the invention, one or more braces havingend-flanges 30 welded thereto are attached to the post flange(s) 24A,Bof the vertical post 22 to form a fence structure to which barbed orsmooth wire may be attached and held taut. The end-flanges 30 arepreferably the same size as the post flange 24A,B with correspondingholes 32. The two basic braces of the invention having end-flanges arethe lateral brace 38 (FIG. 3) and the angle brace 40 (FIG. 4).

The lateral brace 38 of the invention as shown in FIG. 3 is preferablyabout seven feet in length, but may be shorter or longer as desired. Ithas a permanently attached flat end-flange 30 perpendicularly attachedto each end of a tube 42 (also preferably 2½ inch schedule 10 tube) sothat each end of the pipe 42 may be attached to an upper post flange 24Aor lower post flange 24B of a vertical post 22 so that the lateral brace38 spans the distance between two vertical posts 22 as shown in FIG. 1.End-flange 30 preferably is the same size as post flanges A,B. Thisstructure allows formation of an H-shaped fence structure having anupper lateral brace alone, or for most stability, both an upper and alower lateral brace. The H-shaped fence structure may be used as isknown in the art of fencing at fence corners, ends of fence lines, oralong a long expanse of fencing.

In many instances, fencing components of the invention must be attachedat other than a perpendicular orientation or fencing must be placedwhere the ground is not level, and in some cases fence corners must beconstructed at angles other than 90°. The invention herein includes anangle flange 66 that may be used for a variety of purposes such asthese. As shown in use in FIG. 4 for attaching the upper portion 44 ofan angle brace 40 to a vertical post and to the lower portion 46 of theangle brace 40, in FIG. 6 for the mounting of a lateral brace 38 inother than a horizontal orientation, and in FIGS. 7-8 by itself, theangle flange 66 of the invention comprises a first flange plate 68having a perpendicular portion 70 having a proximal end 72 centrallyattached to one side of the first flange plate 68 and a distal end 74. Asecond flange plate 76 of the angle flange 66 has two perpendicularportions 78 each of which has a proximal end 80 attached centrallyattached to one side of the second flange plate 76 and a distal end 82.The two perpendicular portions 78 of the second flange plate 76 arespaced at a distance apart so that the distal end 74 of the first flangeplate perpendicular portion 70 may be inserted between the distal ends82 of the second flange plate perpendicular portions 78 and joined toform a revolute joint 84. This allows one of the flange plates to bemounted to an end-flange that is not vertical, and the other flangeplate to be mounted to a vertical post flange as shown in FIG. 6. Oncethe perpendicular portions are locked in place about the revolute joint84, the two flange plates 68,76 are fixed in non-parallel orientation toeach other, and the attached lateral brace 38 or angle brace 40 willthen extend away from the vertical post 22 at the angle mandated by theorientation of the angle flange 66. If the angle flange 66 is rotated90° from that shown in FIG. 7 to the structure shown in FIG. 8, anattached lateral brace is horizontal but extends at an angle other than90° from the fence line enabling corners that are not 90° corners. Thus,FIGS. 7 and 8 show having the flange plates oriented, with respect tothe perpendicular portions, for angle adjustment in a plane parallel andperpendicular, respectively, to the post or brace to which the angleflange is attached.

The angle brace 40 of the invention as shown in FIG. 4 is made of tubeand has an upper portion 44 mounted, in the field when the fence isbeing constructed, at an obtuse angle to a lower portion 46 as shown.For the standard vertical post 22 discussed above, the preferred anglebrace 40 has an upper portion 44 that is about 7 feet long and a lowerportion 46 that is about two feet long. The upper portion 44 has anangle flange 66 mounted perpendicular to the axis of the upper portion44, with the same dimensions as flange 30. An angle flange 66 ispreferably mounted to the flange 30 on each end of the upper portion 44,and to a flange 24A on the side of the upper end of the lower portion 46of the angle brace 40 that is toward upper portion 44, as shown in FIG.4. When the lower portion 46 is placed vertically in the ground inconcrete, the upper portion 44 is attached so that it angles upward fromthe ground at a preferred 45 degrees, and forms a 45 degree angle withthe vertical post 22 to which it is attached (FIG. 1). Other angles maybe used if desired, but the preferred angles maximize stability of theassembled fence structure. The angle brace 40 may be attached to anyvertical post 22 to provide additional stability.

The invention herein also provides a mechanism for attachment of a priorgate to a vertical post. A gate flange 58 is used for this purpose andcomprises an end-flange 60 that may be fastened to a vertical postflange 24A,B and a swing gate hinge 62 perpendicularly attached to theflat gate end-flange 60 through holes 59 for attachment to a gate 64(FIG. 5). A gate is shown attached to a vertical post using gate flanges58 in FIG. 1.

While an entire fence may be made of the components set forth herein, itis contemplated that most persons wishing to fence an area willgenerally use standard barbed or smooth wire and standard posts for mostof the fence, and the components of the invention for areas requiringparticular stability such as corners. If some type of wire is used forthe rest of the fence, the wire may be attached to the vertical postsand braces by means known in the art for attaching wire to pipe. Toassist in this, a standard tool for attaching wire to fence structures,such as a post tiewire or clip and post tiewire tool or fence post drillclip chuck (Stay-Tite Fence Mfg. Inc. New Braunfels, Tex.), ispreferably provided to purchasers for use with the invention.

In order to make a more attractive post and keep water out of the hollowpipe vertical post, a post end-cap 86 (FIG. 9) as is known in the artmay be placed on the vertical posts. The end-cap 86 is shown striped inthe figures to make its pyramid shape clearer.

It is clear from the description and figures herein that the inventionherein provides a very versatile, useful fencing system, and that anyfence assembly having an overall shape as is known in the art or as maybe devised for particular purposes may be made from the fence componentsand fence system set forth above. Thus, two vertical posts may befastened together by one or two lateral braces, assembled in an H-form,and one or more angle braces may be attached to one or more verticalposts, which may in turn be assembled in an H-form. To make complexfence structures with non-horizontal lateral braces, or with cornersthat are not at 90°-angles, angle flanges may be used. Any vertical post22 may have lateral or angle braces attached to the vertical post in avariety of patterns. For example, a vertical post 22 may just have anangle brace attached thereto, may have a single lateral brace, twolateral braces at an angle of 180° from each other (a straight line) orat 90° from each other (a standard corner for a single field), may havethree lateral braces forming a “T” when viewed from above, or fourlateral braces forming a cross when viewed from above. In addition, eachsuch lateral brace at its other end may be part of any type of simple orcomplex attachment to another vertical post, and so on. One or moreangle flanges may be used to change the angle of each lateral brace withrespect to a vertical post or other lateral braces and fencing, andgates may be inserted as desired.

While the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments, it will be appreciated that numerous variations,modifications, and embodiments are possible, and accordingly, all suchvariations, modifications, and embodiments are to be regarded as beingwithin the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. An engineered fence system, comprising: a) a four-sided vertical postand having at least one vertical post flange permanently attached to oneside of the vertical post at an upper location on the vertical post; andb) at least one brace having that may be fastened to a vertical postflange, the brace selected from the group consisting of: i) a lateralbrace having a flat end-flange perpendicularly attached to each end ofthe lateral brace; and ii) an angle brace comprising an upper portionhaving an end-flange at each end, to each of which end-flanges an angleflange may be attached, and a lower portion having an attached upperpost flange, each angle flange comprising a first flange plate having aperpendicular portion having a proximal end centrally attached to oneside of the first flange plate and a distal end; and a second flangeplate having two perpendicular portions each of which has a proximal endattached centrally attached to one side of the second flange plate and adistal end, with the two perpendicular portions of the second flangeplate being spaced at a distance apart so that the distal end of thefirst flange plate perpendicular portion may be inserted between thedistal ends of the second flange plate perpendicular portions and joinedto form a revolute joint, so that one of the flange plates may bemounted to an end-flange, and the other flange plate mounted to a postflange, and the perpendicular portions locked in place about therevolute joint, so that the two flange plates of each angle flange arefixed in non-parallel orientation to each other; and c) fasteners forattaching engineered fence system components to each other.
 2. The fencesystem of claim 1, wherein there are four vertical post flangespermanently attached each on one side of the vertical post at an upperlocation on the vertical post.
 3. The fence system of claim 1, whereinthe fasteners comprise nuts and bolts, and wherein the vertical postflange has holes into which nuts are embedded.
 4. The fence system ofclaim 1, wherein the vertical post further comprises four vertical postflanges permanently attached each on one side of the vertical post at alower location on the vertical post.
 5. The fence system of claim 1,further comprising a gate flange comprising a flat gate end-flange thatmay be fastened to a vertical post flange and a swing gate hingeperpendicularly attached to the flat gate end-flange for attachment to agate.
 6. The fence system of claim 1, further comprising a fence wiretightener for attaching fence wire to the vertical post and brace. 7.The fence system of claim 1, further comprising an end-cap for thevertical post.
 8. A fence assembly assembled from the fence system ofclaim
 1. 9. The fence assembly assembled from the fence system accordingto claim 8, comprising two vertical posts fastened together by at leastone lateral brace, assembled in an H-form.
 10. The fence assemblyaccording to claim 8, wherein for each vertical post there are fourvertical post flanges permanently attached each on one side of thevertical post at an upper location on the vertical post; and fourvertical post flanges permanently attached each on one side of thevertical post at a lower location on the vertical post; and whereinthere are two lateral braces, one of which lateral braces is attached toan upper post flange, and one of which is attached to a lower postflange.
 11. The fence assembly assembled from the fence system accordingto claim 8, comprising a vertical post fastened to an angle brace